


All the Ways to Say I Love You

by WolfInWonderland



Series: Pre Writing Collections [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: I love them I swear, M/M, oneshots, others I just straight up torture these people, some will be teeth rottenly sweet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-03
Updated: 2018-07-17
Packaged: 2019-05-01 20:10:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14528250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfInWonderland/pseuds/WolfInWonderland
Summary: A collection of oneshots all surrounding how Noctis and Ignis say "I love you" to each other. Rating may go up in later chapters.





	1. Over A Cup of Tea

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on a roll this week. So this is basically what the summary says: a bunch of single stories that came from a prompt list I saw and was super inspired by, all surrounding the theme of "I love you". For the most part, they won't tie together and you don't need to read them in order to get the story. I'm keeping this rated Teens for now, but I will probably move that up to Mature or even Explicit depending on how far my brain takes me in the other stories. Expect some super sweet puppy love and some heart wrenching sadness. It'll be fine...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm on a roll this week. So this is basically what the summary says: a bunch of single stories that came from a prompt list I saw and was super inspired by, all surrounding the theme of "I love you". For the most part, they won't tie together and you don't need to read them in order to get the story. I'm keeping this rated Teens for now, but I will probably move that up to Mature or even Explicit depending on how far my brain takes me in the other stories. Expect some super sweet puppy love and some heart wrenching sadness. It'll be fine...

The first time Noctis had tea he was sitting in on a meeting with his father at the age of thirteen. Someone had served a round for the table, his father kept looking at him pointedly, and Noctis continued to lift the cup in an effort to pretend drink it. The liquid smelled burnt-how someone managed to do that to glorified flavored water Noctis would never know-and the prince was in the middle of deciding if it was worth his life just to please his dad when Ignis nudged his arm. 

Noct looked to his left and Ignis subtly pushed his own teacup right next to Noct’s. They were sitting close enough together that no one noticed when Ignis grabbed Noct’s still full cup instead of his almost finished one. His almost advisor hide a smile behind the rim as he took a drink. 

The meeting finished soon after and as everyone was shuffling out of the room, Ignis told Noctis that he would see him after the next meeting the older teen had for the day. Noctis watched his almost advisor leave, then looked to the cup he had given Noctis in trade. There was still some tea leftover and now that there was no one who could see him react, Noctis was willing to try the demon drink. 

He took a sip, then spat it out into the nearest flower pot. 

That was the last time Noctis had ever had tea and he refused to even entertain the idea of having it again. …Until he started dating Ignis.

His now official advisor and boyfriend drank the stuff almost every night. ‘It helps me relax,’ Ignis told him once when he asked about it. ‘And I like certain flavors very much.’

Noctis had joked that Ignis should only drink tea then if he was cheating on Ebony with it so much, and Ignis had refused to pick him up from school for a week.

Now Noctis knew that he would never be able to drink coffee despite Ignis’ religious love for it, but he was kinda willing to give tea another try so that he and his boyfriend could bond over it.

In retrospect, now that Noctis was staring down a cup of Sylleblossom tea as Ignis watched from across the table, that idea was very stupid.

“You don’t have to drink it,” Ignis said for the fifth time that afternoon. Noctis just glared at him.

“I’m going to drink this stuff if it kills me.”

“The way you’re staring at it, it just might,” Ignis said as he took a sip from his cup.

Noctis sucked in a deep breath then let it out slowly. He grabbed the cup handle with determination. “I’m doing this because I love you,” he said and took a big drink.

Ignis watched with a raised eyebrow as Noctis sat the cup down. A few tense seconds passed.

“I made a batch of your Memory Lane Pastries to help get rid of the taste.”

“Astrals bless you Iggy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does anyone have a prompt idea? I have a few that are all centered around this i love you stuff, but if you have something that's different or even just want to see more of this please let me know either in the comments or over at my tumblr: Wolf(In)WritingLand
> 
> Up next: Not Said to Me


	2. Not Said to Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Ignis

Ever since Noctis had made a friend in Prompto, the two were practically inseparable. Ignis would always catch them playing video games late into the night despite having school the next morning, and he would be made to bring Noct along whenever Ignis dropped Prompto back home from a visit to the prince’s apartment. And even though Ignis lived closer to Prompto and it took double the time before he could get to bed because he had to take the trip back to return Noctis, Ignis couldn’t find it in himself to ever be annoyed.

He loved his prince and wanted the best possible normal life for him before he was forced to become King and be overwhelmed with the world of kingly responsibilities.

And if, somewhere between the first handshake he ever shared with the prince and last week’s dinner with just the two of them, Ignis’ feelings transformed from friendship to heart bleeding, ever lasting, I-would-watch-the-world-burn-for-you type of love, then Ignis had learned how to live with it.

And live with it he did. He made sure to never show how his eyes would soften whenever the prince would excitedly show him a new high score on the game Ignis had gotten him last winter. He would never allow anyone to see the small reverent smile he gave Noctis whenever the two went out for one of the prince’s driving lessons and Noctis was able to properly double park the car while only backing up on the curb twice. And he definitely never let Noctis feel how his fingers lingered on the prince’s cheek whenever Ignis carried him to bed after he fell asleep at the table from studying.

Ignis learned that he had to be a master of everything when it came to helping his prince; what were a few hidden feelings but an addition to the rest of his duties?

It was just another day when Ignis opened the front door to Noctis’ apartment only to find that he wasn’t in the living room.

Strange, he was sure that his charge and Prompto would have already arrived from school and be playing King’s Knight on the couch by now.

Ignis took out his phone to message Gladio on Noctis’ whereabouts when he heard a thump coming from the prince’s bedroom. He immediately went to the door and pressed his ear against it to listen and see if intruders had made their way into the room.

Rather than the unsure shuffling of a thief that he expected, Ignis heard some breathy moans and, surprisingly, Prompto’s voice.

“Noct…what about Ignis?” the teen panted between hitched breaths.

“He’s never spared me a second glance, Prom. I told you, I got over him. I love _you_.”

There was no mistaking that voice as any other than Noctis and the unmistakable sound of wet kissing that followed after.

Ignis slowly pushed himself away from the door and quietly made his way out of the apartment. He closed the front door and leaned his back against it, sliding down until he was sitting on the dirty hallway carpet.

He couldn’t leave the prince alone: it was one of his duties to always spend the afternoon with him and make a dinner that they would share together. He would wait here for some time to give the two their privacy. If Noctis asked, which Ignis snorted at the thought knowing how preoccupied the prince was, then Ignis would just say that he was caught in traffic. Easy.

Ignis sat against the door in silence as he measured his breathing.

And if a few tears dripped down his chin and onto the horribly chosen carpet, well, he would just have to learn how to live with that too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah, hi. Please don’t hate me. I love how Noctis and Prompto look together, and I adore Prom and want to give him the world, but this is always what goes through my mind whenever I read a story with them paired together. How can I accept them when Ignis ‘my whole being was given, crafted, and devoted to you’ Scientia watches from the sidelines? I can’t, I say. 
> 
> Does anyone have a prompt idea? I have a few that are all centered around this i love you stuff, but if you have something that's different or even just want to see more of this please let me know either in the comments or over at my tumblr: Wolf(In)WritingLand
> 
> Next Up: Post-It Notes


	3. On A Post-It Note

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Didn't mean to update two stories in one day, but i figure since these kinda get written at the same time, they can go hand in hand.

Ignis always wrote little notes to go with Noct’s lunch. Sometimes they’re reminders of a report he has to look over once he gets home, sometimes they’re letting him know that Gladio will be the one picking him up since Ignis is in a meeting at the time that he couldn’t get out of. Sometimes they’re saying hi to Prompto because Ignis knows that Noctis gets jealous easily and it’s his punishment for something he did the previous day.

But no matter what the note said, it always ended with something encouraging.

_Have a good day at school._

_You did very well on your last exam. Good job._

_You deserve a treat for all your hard work recently. How about we get some ice-cream on our way home?_

_You’ll be able to beat Gladiolus today, I know it._

_I’m proud of you._

The notes were nice enough, just knowing that Ignis was working so hard to keep him on track when he didn’t necessarily have to always brought a warm feeling inside Noct’s chest. But it was those small things, those pretty words written in Ignis’ pretty handwriting that put a blush on Noctis’ face every time he read them.

His day was never complete until he could hold that tiny post-it to his chest and bask in the warm feeling he got. Prompto would always tease him about it whenever he caught him, but for as embarrassed Noct could get in those moments, he would always make sure to keep the sticky piece of paper nice and safe until he could put it secretly away in his collection.

Those notes meant the world to Noctis, which was why he almost started hyperventilating when he realized that he forgot to grab his lunch on the way out this morning.

Prompto tried to sooth him, “It’s only a lunch dude, I’ll share mine with you”, but Noctis just tightly smiled and shook his head to refuse. Prom didn’t get that it wasn’t about the food.

Right when Noct was accepting that he had to forgo his note today, his name was called. He looked up from where he and Prompto were sitting on their school lawn bench and saw Ignis jogging up to them.

Noctis hustled to meet him halfway. Ignis smiled down at him as he tried to get his breath back.

“You forgot your lunch,” his advisor said when he could speak properly again and offered the forgotten meal in a bag.

“I went to your apartment to pick up the report the King requested and noticed that it was still on the table. Please do not make this a habit, your Highness; I cannot always bring you your food at school.”

Ignis waved at Prompto and told him that he had packed something for the blond as well and Prom whooped in excitement as Ignis excused himself.

“I’ll be back to pick you two up later. Please enjoy the rest of your school day.”

They watched as Ignis got into his car and sped off to do Iggy things, then when he was completely gone from sight Noctis opened the bag.

There were two containers worth of food, one presumably for each of them, but right on top of the upper one was the yellow sticky note. Noctis was used to seeing a novel’s worth written on the thing, but this time there was only a single line:

_I love you –Ignis_

It was the best note Noctis had ever gotten.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up Next: Without Really Meaning It


	4. Without Really Meaning It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ignis is a tease and I will die by this fact. This time, an Older!universe fix it story where everyone is happy and nothing hurts.

“Any particular reason you’re not wearing your glasses today, Specs?” King Noctis asked as he eyed his Advisor over a report that should have been done yesterday. Ignis smiled sheepishly and placed another stack of files down on the King’s desk. 

“I, uh,” Noctis’ eyebrow rose impossibly high at the stutter from his usually impeccable friend, “I kinda lost them? To one of Prompto’s…friends yesterday.”

Ah, Noctis thought to himself. Ignis has always had the worst luck when helping Prompto with his Chocobos, and it was kinda nice to know that some things hadn’t changed during his time in the Crystal.

“Right off your face, huh?”

“It’s not funny, your Majesty,” Ignis said as he instinctively went to push up his glasses, then sighed as Noctis started laughing in earnest.

“I’ll need to get used to these contacts until my new pair come in.”

Contacts? That was news to Noctis. But now that Noctis was really looking at him, he did notice that Ignis wasn’t squinting at things like he normally would have been if he didn’t have anything to help his vision. 

“How long have you…?” Noctis gestured to Ignis un-specifically.

“Only since yesterday. Prompto offered me a box of his disposable lens as an apology for Clair destroying my glasses after we found that we have similar prescriptions. They’re not a full match, but they’ll do for now.”

Noctis nodded at the explanation, but subtly continued to stare at Ignis as the other man moved around the office. 

In the ten years that Noctis was asleep, the world continued on without him. Albeit, it was a world that continued on in never-ending darkness, but it kept moving. As such, after Noctis was revived and took down Ardyn for good, there were thousands of things that Noct needed to readjust himself to in this new world.

And one of those things was just how beautiful Ignis had become. 

His Advisor had always been a sight to behold; with his long limbs, endless grace, pouty lips, chiseled nose, dirty blond windswept silken hair,

Ignis was pretty before, but age enhanced all those features and more. But the one thing that Noctis hadn’t paid much attention to after he had awoken was just how bright Ignis’ green eyes were. His glasses had always dulled the natural smolder Ignis possessed, so without them, those orbs could be used as a weapon all on their own.

Noctis flinched when Ignis’ eyes looked back into his suddenly. How long had he been staring?

“Is there something on my face, your Majesty?” 

Noctis shook his head as both a ‘no’ and a means to clear his thoughts. “No, no. Just…haven’t seen you without glasses in a long time. It…changes your look.”

“Prompto suggested I get a bat to ward off any unwanted suitors,” Ignis scoffed at the joke, but Noctis stiffened.

“As if any would get close to you,” Noct scowled down at his desk. The world would have to get through its King before Noctis allowed anyone to steal his longest friend from him.

There were a few minutes of silence as Noctis stewed in his thoughts of Ignis being whisked away by some faceless man, and he was so distracted that he didn’t see the other come closer until Ignis placed his hands onto the wood.

“Do you not think I could attract anyone like this, your Majesty?” Ignis leaned forward onto the desk as Noctis jolted upright and stared wide-eyed up him. 

“That’s…that’s not what I-”

Ignis’ mouth curled up into a smirk. “Do you not think that my eyes are compelling enough to draw someone in?”

Noctis’ mouth dried as he stared into said eyes; those impossibly green, almost glowing verdant orbs that promised mischief the more they took Noctis in.

Ignis’ hand trailed the top of the desk as he walked around it. Noctis followed Ignis’ movements in his swivel chair. 

“Would my stare not be enough to melt a man down to his core if my full attention was on him?” Ignis practically purred as he slowly got down to his knees in front of Noctis’ sitting form. 

The King ‘meeped’ as Ignis placed his gloved hand over his knee and caressed it slightly while tilting his head back to keep looking into Noctis’ eyes. 

“Would he not be held captive by my touch, as little as it may be, in hopes for something more?” Ignis leaned up a bit and used Noct’s knees to stabilize himself as he got up right in front of Noctis’ face. The blond’s breath was so close that Noct could smell the Ebony Ignis had had before he got here.

“Would a possible lover be able to resist as I whispered into his ear,” Ignis brought himself even closer to the side of Noctis’ head, “’I love you’?”

Noctis would be the first to admit that he didn’t have the same sex drive as Gladio did, hell, even Prompto got to it more than the King did, but Noctis was still a hot blooded male and the sight of Ignis practically sitting on his lap as he whispered all that was getting to be too much for him.

Noctis was a second away from wrapping his arms around Ignis to drag him fully into his lap so the man could see exactly what he was doing to Noct, but Ignis leaned back with a quiet chuckle and stepped a safe distance away before the younger could do anything. Ignis’ eyes were sparkling,

“You are right of course, your Majesty: I’m not one for seduction and fully let Prompto know that his joke was in ill taste.” Ignis rolled his eyes as if Prompto was actually there with them, then turned his back to his King.

“Now, enough foolishness. If you are done with that report, I can finally bring it to the council and begin preparations on…”

Since Ignis went off about actual royal business and had begun riffling through the papers he had abandoned before his charade, he didn’t see how wide Noctis’ eyes got as he was left behind, nor how he immediately tucked his chair behind his desk to hide his lap. 

Noctis’ thoughts were miles away from what Ignis was talking about and instead focused on how he desperately needed a cold shower to get through the rest of his day. And how he needed to get a new Advisor until Ignis’ new glasses came in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Up: As We Huddle Together, The Storm Raging Outside


	5. As We Huddle Together, the Storm Raging Outside

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes you just need a good alternate universe story where everything is good and no one dies.

There weren’t too many people who walked their cat; Noctis was well aware of this fact. But did that stop him from putting a leash on Carbuncle every evening to let the cat pretend he had freedom at the park by their apartment? Not at all.

It was, however, the reason he only walked him at night though. There weren’t as many people who felt the need to inform Noct that he didn’t need to take his cat for a walk, to lecture him on how he should have gotten a dog if he really wanted to go on walks so bad, to warn him that if he let go of the leash then he would never be able to catch his cat. The list was endless.

Nighttime was the definitely the best time for walks. Peace and quiet.

Except for when it wasn’t. Like tonight, when he forgot to check the weather before they headed out and were now stuck in the middle of a rainstorm inside a sheltered bus stop because he didn’t have an umbrella and it was too late to call for help. 

Damn.

The forecast was clear when he saw it in the morning, but Insomnia was known for having sudden downpours during the spring. It was also known for being desperately hot despite winter having just finished, so Noctis didn’t bother to bring a jacket or anything he could wrap Carbuncle in to keep the feline from getting wet, so they couldn’t jog home either. 

Double damn.

Noctis sighed as he looked down at Carbuncle. “Looks like we’re stuck here for a while, bud.”

The cat meowed. 

“I know, I don’t want to be here either, but we have no choice. Unless you promise to not claw my arms off when I dry your wet fur when we make it back?”

The cat hissed slightly.

“That’s what I thought,” Noctis moaned and ran his hand over his face. The storm sounded like a big one, so he had one of two options: risk waiting it out and hope that the rain let up sometime sooner than morning or say ‘fuck it’ and accept sliced up arms in order to carry his water hating cat all the way home.

Neither option was very appealing, really.

Noctis was just about ready to say goodbye to his arms when he heard a pair of footsteps running his way. He quickly scooped up Carbuncle to keep him from getting accidentally splashed as a man entered their safe haven. 

The man was covering himself with his suit jacket, then lowered it when he was fully under the bus stop. His dirty blond hair was practically brown with how wet it was sticking to his forehead, and his glasses were completely covered in rain droplets, to the point that Noctis figured the guy couldn’t properly see.

That thought was proven when the man draped his soaked jacket over his left arm, took off his glasses with his right hand, and jumped at seeing Noctis.

“I’m sorry,” his voice rumbled with a Tenebrean accent that was nice and very easy on the ears. “I couldn’t see much with my glasses as fogged as they were. I hope I didn’t wet you in my carelessness.”

Noctis shook his head. “We’re fine. Just got stuck here when the rain started.”

Carbuncle meowed in agreement and the man laughed lightly. 

“Yes, it did come quite quickly, didn’t it?” The man sighed. “I had hoped to get home before it started and save a bit of money, but I guess I’ll have to call a ride anyway.”

“If there’s a cab still running this late,” Noctis pointed out.

“I have a friend who’ll come pick me up. He’s just very stingy and demands payment whenever I need his car.”

The man took out his phone from a back pocket, but, because of how tiny the shelter was, he was close enough that Carbuncle was able to lightly swipe at the device.

“Carbuncle!” Noctis scolded and turned his body away so his cat couldn’t try to play with the phone again. “I’m sorry about that.”

The other male thankfully laughed instead of got angry. “It’s quite alright. It was a bit rude of me to just call for help when you two are stuck here as well. Do you have a plan for getting home, or?”

Noctis shook his head. “I’m probably just going to run for it if the rain doesn’t let up soon. We’re not that far from here.”

“In what direction?”

Noctis and Carbuncle tilted their heads. “Huh?”

The man’s incredibly green eyes, wow how had Noctis noticed how bright they were?, crinkled a bit in the corners as he covered his mouth with a hand and chuckled. “Which direction do you live in from here? I’m sure I can get Gladio to give you a ride as well if it’s not too far out of the way.”

“Oh, uh, east. Right next to the Crow’s Nest on Fifteenth and Seven.”

“That’s fine then. We can drive you there, if you’d like.”

“Oh, I love you,” Noctis said as he sagged with relief at not having to carry an angry cat in the rain. But then he stiffened as he realized what he said. “Uh, I mean…”

The man full out laughed in his sexy accent and Noctis couldn’t find it in himself to be too upset with it.

“I’d at least like to have dinner before we go exchanging such words,” he said as he punched in some numbers onto his phone. “My name is Ignis, by the way.”

“Noctis. And this troublemaker is Carbuncle.” Noctis held up the mentioned cat and Carbuncle meowed in greeting.

Ignis held the phone up to his ear and winked at Noct. “If you’d like to go get coffee sometime, your troublemaker could also be a matchmaker.”

Astrals, was Noctis being hit on by this incredibly attractive man he just met in the rain? While being offered a ride home, no less?

Ignis finished his call and lowered his phone. “Gladio will be here in a few minutes.”

“Dinner’s good!” Noctis yelled out and Ignis jumped in surprise. Then Noct hunched in on himself because just how embarrassing could he be in one night? “Or coffee’s fine too,” he mumbled.

Ignis, bless the man he had just met, smiled down at him and offered his phone. “I know a little coffee shop that allows pets in, if you’d like.”

Carbuncle purred happily at the offer as Noctis typed in his phone number.

Maybe getting stuck in the rain wasn’t that bad, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: A scream


	6. A Scream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone take Ignis away from me, I like hurting him a little too much recently.

Ignis knew that Noctis was always destined for great things. He was destined to be a great king of Lucis; an upstanding friend to all his comrades in arms; eventually, a loving father to the next generation of Lucis Caelum children.

Ignis had planned for all of those outcomes, and hundreds of others because that is what an Advisor to the King _does_. So why, in his thousands of future plans did he never envision this future for them?

He never saw Noctis needing to go into the Crystal to prepare for a future destiny battle with a random man they had continually run into. A random man who, apparently, turned out to be a millennia old ancestor of the Caelum line. Ignis never foresaw the ten years of darkness Eos would have to live through before Noctis could be returned to them and fight in said destiny battle to bring back the sun.

Ignis also never foresaw Noctis dying in that battle because he was a _King._ No, more than that, he was Noctis. Immature, vegetable hating, always wanting to fish Noctis who Ignis had stood next to for all of his life. He couldn’t just…die. Not before Ignis. Ignis had stayed alive through all those years in the darkness because he knew Noctis would return to him and everything would go back to how Ignis had always planned.

The sun was supposed to rise on Noctis’ victory, his three friends standing at his side as they welcomed the new dawn together.

So why, Astrals help him, did Ignis walk into the Citadel throne room after the first sunrise in ten years to find Noctis pinned to his throne by his father’s sword?

“No, no no no no,” Ignis chanted as he ran up to Noctis only to fall at his feet when he saw all the blood blooming from his chest.

“Noctis, no, you can’t do this,” Ignis said as he tried to pull into the armiger for a potion or phoenix down or anything they had to make Noctis _wake up_. But the magic connecting him to the armiger was gone and Ignis couldn’t take out any of their supplies.

“Damn it!” Ignis yelled and tore through his pockets in search for something he had been carrying, then tried to tear out the offending weapon.

“Noctis, don’t leave me.” Ignis swore as the sword wouldn’t budge, but broke a potion on Noctis’ chest anyway. Wake him up, then get out the sword. Make sure he’s alive, then worry about bleeding out.

But all the potion did was erupt in a green liquid that didn’t glow or show evidence of working it’s healing magic.

So Ignis tried again. And another. And the elixir he found in his pocket as well. But nothing was working.

Noctis wasn’t waking up. Noctis wasn’t breathing.

Noctis wasn’t alive.

The truth tasted bitter on Ignis’ tongue when he finally sat back on his knees, so he tried to think of it in a different way.

Noctis was no longer animate. Noctis would be sleeping forever. Noctis’ spirit had left his mortal body. Noctis was with his father and Lunafreya. And Clarus, and his uncle, and Ravus, and Nyx, and the people of Insomnia, and Altissia, and,

And Noctis was dead.

It was that last one that finally broke him.

“I love you,” Ignis muttered as he wiped his trembling hand against the wetness rolling down his face. “I love you,” he said louder as he choked on a sob that threatened to tear right out of his throat.

“I love you!” Ignis screamed so loud that the words echoed throughout the large empty room, bouncing again and again for no one but Ignis to hear.

Because Noctis was dead.

“I love you,” Ignis whispered as he buried his head into Noctis’ lap and began weeping uncontrollably now that he didn’t have any words to clog up his mouth.

Ignis had finally admitted the truth of his emotions, the depth of his love, but it didn’t matter because Noctis wasn’t around to accept the words or turn them down. Noctis still had no idea of what Ignis’ feelings really were.

Because Noctis was dead and Ignis had never planned for this outcome to happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: As a hello


	7. As A Hello

Noctis doesn’t sneak into Ignis’ apartment often because there are rules about that kind of thing. Societal rules, common decency rules.

Iggy’s rules.

But Ignis was the one who had given Noctis a key to his apartment, so there had to be some sort of leeway allowed considering that Ignis’ personal space was freely offered for Noctis’ intruding.

At least, that’s what Noctis thought anyway, so he made sure to take advantage of that holy key as often as he dare to before Ignis could get annoyed.

After all, Noctis was Ignis’ _boyfriend_ and that gave Noct free reign to surprise Ignis with sudden kiss attacks whenever he wanted. That term also gave Ignis the right to thwack Noctis over the head whenever he got a little too handsy, so Noctis thought it was a fair enough trade.

And that’s why, on this fine summer’s evening that was a little too hot for Noctis’ liking but was perfect for Ignis’ evening ritual of leaving the balcony door open to cool the space, the prince found himself laying on Ignis’ bed staring out into the night sky.

Noctis had let himself into the apartment when he didn’t receive any response from Ignis despite the prince having called at least three times, and found out that Ignis was busy taking a shower.

The running water had a nice background melody that calmed Noctis more than any tea Ignis tried to give him and the evening air was blowing just enough to offer a cool respite from the humidity that shrouded the day earlier.

Ignis’ queen sized bed was also the perfect place to stretch out on, so Noctis maneuvered himself into the most seductive pose he could handle without laughing at to wait for Ignis in.

Right as Noctis was beginning to wish that he had brought some roses or something to romanticize the night, Ignis’ shower turned off.

It only took a few minutes before Noctis’ boyfriend opened the bathroom door with a gust of steam pouring out with him.

Noctis’ mouth instantly dried.

Ignis was in a towel, only a towel, which wrapped around his waist enticingly and was just low enough to tease at the prize that was hidden underneath it. His muscular chest was still dripping wet and Noctis’ eyes followed a single bead of water as it descended down Ignis’ toned stomach until it finally snaked below the towel to join the other secrets that the cloth was hiding from view.

Ignis’ cheeks were a healthy pink from his shower and his hair was a disheveled mess that the Advisor sensually pushed back with his sinfully long fingers. His spine slightly arched from the motion, elongating his torso beautifully for Noctis’ vision.

Ignis’ verdant green eyes were slightly glazed as he let out a long breath, until those eyes were cast onto the bed and widened significantly.

“Noctis?!” Ignis stammered and held onto the knot of his towel protectively.

“I love you,” Noctis breathed with such wonder as if he had seen the Astrals themselves stand before him.

It took a second for Ignis’ brain to catch up, but when it did he let out a bell-like chuckle.

“Hello to you too,” he said endearingly and tilted his head to the side. “Not that you being here is a problem, but why are you sitting on my bed this late at night, Highness?”

“I,” Noctis started but had to lick his dried lips, “I wanted to see you.”

Ignis laughed softly into the hand that wasn’t holding his towel up.

“Well, I think you’ve certainly seen me tonight.”

Noctis scooted off the bed to make his way to Ignis, then stood directly in front of him, admiring the body that was undeniably _his_ from up close.

The slight color that was on Ignis’ cheeks before intensified and traveled down his neck, all the way to the top of his collar bones.

Noctis wanted to lick at the edge of the blush to see if he could make it go down any further.

“Noctis,” Ignis murmured and Noctis reached up to gently rub his thumb over his boyfriend’s neck. Ignis shuddered.

“Maybe I should go put some clothes on,” Ignis whispered as Noctis stroked his pulse point.

Noctis grinned.

“I think you have a little too much on actually,” he countered and grabbed Ignis’ hand. The prince tugged Ignis to the bed and urged him down on top of it.

Once Ignis was leaning back onto his pillows, Noctis crawled above him.

“Let me help you take this off,” Noctis whispered into Ignis’ ear and his hands traveled down to the edge of the towel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: When I am dead


	8. When I Am Dead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The group gets ambushed at the worst of times and Ignis needs to take one for the team so that the others can survive.

The fight should not have been as difficult as it was. Ignis blamed the miscalculation on his lack of foresight. And the bad timing with the increasingly early sunset. And the additional Niflheim backup that just had to fly over where they were encircled. And,

Ignis blamed the fight on a lot of things, really. But blaming did absolutely nothing to help them out of their situation.

“Ignis, instructions?” Noctis called somewhere off to the Advisor’s right, his voice labored as he took down another trooper. 

Ignis scowled as he threw another dagger. There was nothing he could plan, no strategy he could formulate to help get them out of the danger that had quite literally jumped on them when they were in no state to fight.

Gladiolus roared as he unleashed another attack with his broadsword, but Ignis could tell that the Shield was at his limit. Prompto shouted when he was taken down by a sabertusk from behind and Noctis warped to his side before Ignis could move. 

There were too many enemies for them to ward off. Too many obstacles for them to run away from. But they also didn’t have enough supplies to keep healing themselves and continue fighting. Ignis could see that magitek soldiers were still streaming out of their fliers in waves and the daemons were ever spawning thanks to the set sun. 

This was the first time Ignis did not have instructions to give and that knowledge burned a hole inside of his chest.

“Ignis!” Noctis yelled from Prompto’s side on the ground. Ignis ran over as Gladio blocked them from an oncoming attack with his shield. Ignis slid to his knees next to Noctis. 

“There’s too many of them,” Gladio grunted from above. 

“We’re out of potions,” Noctis panted as he searched the armiger. “All we have left are a few magic flasks.”

Ignis pinched the bridge of his nose as he caught his breath. That was an idea.

The magic flasks might be useable as a distraction, or a makeshift bomb. If they could get high enough to throw it into the hoard’s center, it might be enough.

Ignis looked around. There! There was a rock ledge that protruded just enough for one of them to stand on, but it offered no cover or protection against the magiteks’ guns and whoever went up would be a offering themselves up for slaughter by bullets.

Not that here was any better, Ignis reasoned as Prompto shot another soldier and Gladiolus shoved a daemon aside.

“I think I have a plan,” Ignis muttered slowly and continued looking around. “Noctis, do you see that shallow groove on the rock’s edge? Behind those bushes?”

“Yeah, you thinking we can hide inside it?”

“It’ll be a tight fit, but three people should be able to squeeze in.”

“Three?” Prompto asked as he sniped another enemy. “I think you’re a body short there, buddy.”

Ignis summoned a fire flask and tossed it lightly in his hand. “No, three will be fine. I’m going up to try and burst their epicenter. Ideally, it’ll be a large enough blast to take out all the bodies, at worst it’ll leave a few stragglers that’ll need to be picked off.”

Noctis looked as if Ignis’d gone crazy.

“You crazy or something? There’s no way you’ll be able to throw that without getting hit yourself.”

Ignis and Gladio shared a long stare and Noctis choked on his next breath.

“No.”

“It’ll be a large enough distraction to escape, at the very least,” Ignis said as he stared into Gladiolus’ eyes. 

“No,” Noctis hissed and swiped for the flask Ignis was still tossing.

The Advisor flashed it back into the armiger before Noctis could grab it. 

“And a Shield’s duty, Iggy?” Gladio’s eyes were filled with pain and Ignis saw Prompto looking back and forth between all three of them with a worried expression from the corner of his eye.

“A Shield needs to stay at his charge’s side at all times, you know that,” Ignis pressed and Gladio let out a shaky sigh that cracked at the end.

“No!” Noctis finally screamed and grabbed Ignis by his shoulders. “I won’t let you kill yourself for me. For us. There has to be another way!”

Ignis studied Noctis’ blue, so very blue, eyes that had matured so much on this trip from when Ignis first saw those orbs when he was a child. He’d cherished those eyes from the moment he’d seen their depths, Ignis realized with a snap in his heart. 

He’d always done everything he could to protect them. His only regret was that Ignis wouldn’t be able to see how those eyes would evolve over the coming years for himself.

Ignis grabbed for Noctis’ head and pulled the prince down onto his chest. Ignis held on tightly as Noctis gasped in surprise.

“Just don’t look, your Highness,” Ignis muttered and ran his fingers through jet black hair. “It’ll be over soon if you just don’t look.”

Noctis began struggling in earnest against Ignis’ hold, and Ignis pressed at a spot on the back of the prince’s neck. Noctis became pliant in his arms instantly.

“Can you take him, Prompto?” Ignis asked to the gunner who had covered his mouth with both hands and had tears streaming down his cheeks. “Gladio needs to keep hold of his shield to guard you both to cover.”

“I-Iggy,” Prompto sobbed. Ignis just smiled at him and pushed Noctis’ limp body into his arms.

“Take him,” he urged soothingly, then looked back at Gladiolus. “You’ll watch over them, until the end?”

Gladio eyed him with such wet eyes before turning his head away with a harsh glower. “Of course,” he growled out and Ignis ignored how the Shield’s voice wavered.

The Advisor slowly got to his feet and brushed off the knees of his pants. 

“Wait until I warp into position, then run as fast as you can to safety. Hopefully the sign of magic will distract them enough to let you three go.”

Ignis pushed up his glasses in his customary fashion and offered a smile to his two friends.

“Walk tall,” he said and Prompto couldn’t contain his sobs inside anymore. “I’ll be watching over you until we can meet again.”

Ignis didn’t waste any more time before he summoned a new dagger and threw it up to the highest warping point. If Prompto or Gladio, or even Noctis, had called out to him beforehand, Ignis ignored it.

Ignis reached the top of the rock’s edge in the blink of an eye, and from up here he could see how every magitek trooper and daemon turned their heads to watch the flare of magical sparks surround him. He also saw Prompto and Gladio run to the groove once the coast was clear. 

From his vantage, Ignis also saw Noctis looking up at him from inside the hollow with tears running down his pale face.

Ignis summoned as many fire and electric flasks as he could hold before he could lose his nerve.

“I love you,” he mouthed to Noctis, unsure if the prince could make out the movements of his lips or not but still thankful that he could finally admit his feelings all the same, and turned his attention back to the battlefield.

The soldiers already had their guns poised and ready to fire at the same time Ignis called upon the Crystal’s magic to activate the flasks. 

He took a bullet to the shoulder before he could release the first attack, but that didn’t stop him from tossing the magics right at the center of the battlefield and where most of their enemies were located.

Ignis at least got the chance to see the night explode in a flurry of fire and lightning, along with hear the screams of dying robots and daemons, before he took a bullet to the chest that pierced a lung and made him fall to his knees.

“I love you, Noctis,” Ignis thought passionately, he didn’t have the strength to say it all out loud again, before he went down when a bullet caught him between the eyes and all Ignis knew from there on was darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Time: Too Quick, Mumbled into Your Scarf

**Author's Note:**

> So there's my first drabble. How'd it go? I'm not really used to posting things that are super short, but I liked how some of these prompts turned out and wanted to share them. This is basically my pre writing therapy to get me to work on my other projects, like the Ignoct Weekend that's coming up and for anyone who's reading my "Brave Shine" story. Know that whenever I post on here that I'm working on one of those so hopefully that inspires faith that I'll update soon. 
> 
> Does anyone have a prompt idea? I have a few that are all centered around this i love you stuff, but if you have something that's different or even just want to see more of this please let me know either in the comments or over at my tumblr: Wolf(In)WritingLand
> 
> Up next: Not Said to Me


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